Game
of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television series created by
showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. It is an adaptation of A Song
of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy novels, the
first of which is titled A Game of Thrones. It is filmed in a Belfast
studio and on location elsewhere in Croatia, Iceland, Malta, Morocco,
Northern Ireland, Spain, Scotland, and the United States, and premiered
on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011. The sixth season of the
series premiered on April 24, 2016,[5] and the series has also been
renewed for a seventh season to air in 2017.[6]

The
series is set on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos and
interweaves several plot lines with a large ensemble cast. The first
narrative arc follows a civil war among several noble houses for the
Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms; the second covers the attempts to
reclaim the throne by the exiled last scion of the realm's deposed
ruling dynasty; the third chronicles the rising threat of the impending
winter and the legendary creatures and fierce peoples of the North.

Game
of Thrones has attracted record numbers of viewers on HBO and attained
an exceptionally broad and active international fan base. It has
received widespread acclaim by critics, particularly for its acting,
complex characters, story, scope, and production values, although its
frequent use of nudity, violence, and sexual violence has attracted
criticism. The series has won 26 Primetime Emmy Awards, including the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2015—when it set a
record for most wins for a series in a single year—and numerous other
awards and nominations, including three Hugo Award for Best Dramatic
Presentation, a Peabody Award, and three Golden Globe Award nominations.
From among the ensemble cast, Peter Dinklage won two Emmy Awards for
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award
for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for
his performance as Tyrion Lannister.